I've noticed this morning that Percy Main had a 'little oopsie' moment and had a number of services running late, and some not running at all.

Whoever is running Percy Main depot (and the drivers) need a strong word but you'd be better off talking to a brick wall. I've listed all the buses this morning that ran late for no apparent reason and have sent them to Nexus. But then again, Nexus is just as bad as Go North East. If not, worse.

18A: Byker [M] - Longbenton
Due out of Byker Metro at 7:20 didn't run until 8:50 throughout.

317: Whitley Bay - Wallsend
6:43 to turn up half an hour late, BEHIND the 7:13 bus, resulted in the returning 7:57 trip from Whitley Bay not run from Whitley Bay to North Shields, with no bus to replace lost sections.

7:43 from Wallsend to WB commenced at North Shields Ferry Landing at 8:31, although due at 8:26. Tracking also shows it being buses first run of the day.

8:19 trip somehow got 30 minutes late and terminated at Percy Main. No bus to replace lost section onwards to Whitley Bay. Returning 9:27 trip to Wallsend was replaced, however, bus commenced at Malvern Road.

354: Newcastle - North Shields
6:29 trip out of Newcastle didn't commence until Silverlink.

The 56's at Wrekenton yesterday were terrible ended up getting the 25 to Gateshead and still getting there before any 56 did.

(23 May 2024, 10:52 am)Lewispark1509 wrote I've noticed this morning that Percy Main had a 'little oopsie' moment and had a number of services running late, and some not running at all.

Whoever is running Percy Main depot (and the drivers) need a strong word but you'd be better off talking to a brick wall. I've listed all the buses this morning that ran late for no apparent reason and have sent them to Nexus. But then again, Nexus is just as bad as Go North East. If not, worse.

18A: Byker [M] - Longbenton
Due out of Byker Metro at 7:20 didn't run until 8:50 throughout.

317: Whitley Bay - Wallsend
6:43 to turn up half an hour late, BEHIND the 7:13 bus, resulted in the returning 7:57 trip from Whitley Bay not run from Whitley Bay to North Shields, with no bus to replace lost sections.

7:43 from Wallsend to WB commenced at North Shields Ferry Landing at 8:31, although due at 8:26. Tracking also shows it being buses first run of the day.

8:19 trip somehow got 30 minutes late and terminated at Percy Main. No bus to replace lost section onwards to Whitley Bay. Returning 9:27 trip to Wallsend was replaced, however, bus commenced at Malvern Road.

354: Newcastle - North Shields
6:29 trip out of Newcastle didn't commence until Silverlink.

Looks like a resource issue to me rather than missing things by accident. Just had a look and some of them are dropping off school runs which suggests that things are desperate there again.

Might aswell join the other 2 depots further North which are an abomination again today.

Things are bad when Gateshead Central Taxis are the reliable operator in SE Northumberland / North Tyneside.

https://www.bustimes.org/vehicles/gnel-6...2024-05-23 - Example of one of them.

(23 May 2024, 11:08 am)f schoolStorx wrote Looks like a resource issue to me rather than missing things by accident. Just had a look and some of them are dropping off school runs which suggests that things are desperate there again.

Might aswell join the other 2 depots further North which are an abomination again today.

Things are bad when Gateshead Central Taxis are the reliable operator in SE Northumberland / North Tyneside.

https://www.bustimes.org/vehicles/gnel-6...2024-05-23 - Example of one of them.

6102 just replaced a Streetlite rather than dropping of school runs.

Also a lot the vehicles have tracking issues, so  looking at bus times probably isn’t the most reliable. One of them is 8313 which is often on the 317 but barely ever tracks.

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(23 May 2024, 10:52 am)Lewispark1509 wrote I've noticed this morning that Percy Main had a 'little oopsie' moment and had a number of services running late, and some not running at all.

Whoever is running Percy Main depot (and the drivers) need a strong word but you'd be better off talking to a brick wall. I've listed all the buses this morning that ran late for no apparent reason and have sent them to Nexus. But then again, Nexus is just as bad as Go North East. If not, worse.

18A: Byker [M] - Longbenton
Due out of Byker Metro at 7:20 didn't run until 8:50 throughout.

317: Whitley Bay - Wallsend
6:43 to turn up half an hour late, BEHIND the 7:13 bus, resulted in the returning 7:57 trip from Whitley Bay not run from Whitley Bay to North Shields, with no bus to replace lost sections.

7:43 from Wallsend to WB commenced at North Shields Ferry Landing at 8:31, although due at 8:26. Tracking also shows it being buses first run of the day.

8:19 trip somehow got 30 minutes late and terminated at Percy Main. No bus to replace lost section onwards to Whitley Bay. Returning 9:27 trip to Wallsend was replaced, however, bus commenced at Malvern Road.

354: Newcastle - North Shields
6:29 trip out of Newcastle didn't commence until Silverlink.

The 07:43 service did operate the full route as I seen it

Shame. You can't 'get your bum on board', if it doesn't turn up.

I know the 307 i was waiting for yesterday was 10 minutes late, it was due on Verne Road at 11:36, so i opted for a Taxi (i was in a lousy mood anyway)

(23 May 2024, 11:08 am)Storx wrote Looks like a resource issue to me rather than missing things by accident. Just had a look and some of them are dropping off school runs which suggests that things are desperate there again.

Might aswell join the other 2 depots further North which are an abomination again today.

Things are bad when Gateshead Central Taxis are the reliable operator in SE Northumberland / North Tyneside.

https://www.bustimes.org/vehicles/gnel-6...2024-05-23 - Example of one of them.

Talking to a driver the other day, I'm going to put money on them having reliability issues rather soon. It sounds like in the bus industry, a change of employer doesn't always improve your job satisfaction.

(23 May 2024, 11:52 am)Shrek wrote Talking to a driver the other day, I'm going to put money on them having reliability issues rather soon. It sounds like in the bus industry, a change of employer doesn't always improve your job satisfaction.

Another strike?

(23 May 2024, 11:52 am)Shrek wrote Talking to a driver the other day, I'm going to put money on them having reliability issues rather soon. It sounds like in the bus industry, a change of employer doesn't always improve your job satisfaction.

Not surprised to be honest. It'll be interesting to see how they deal with the next upcoming pay deal considering Arriva just nearly went on strike going from the exact amount of pay that GNE are currently on and inflation has dropped substantially since then aswell.

Come in with a 3% or so and things could become ugly. Time for round 2?

(23 May 2024, 12:04 pm)Storx wrote Not surprised to be honest. It'll be interesting to see how they deal with the next upcoming pay deal considering Arriva just nearly went on strike going from the exact amount of pay that GNE are currently on and inflation has dropped substantially since then aswell.

Come in with a 3% or so and things could become ugly. Time for round 2?

Wasn't the GNE deal a 2 year agreement?

(23 May 2024, 12:35 pm)mb134 wrote Wasn't the GNE deal a 2 year agreement?

Yes, was a 2 year deal, no more pay talks until July 2025

(23 May 2024, 12:35 pm)mb134 wrote Wasn't the GNE deal a 2 year agreement?

Not too sure now that you said it. Did they ever agree to the second year? I thought the union wanted that bit wiped out.

Edit: just checked looks like they did and it's only a 4% deal which isn't going to be very attractive considering it's 20p below Stagecoach and Arriva and that's before their respective next deals come in.

(23 May 2024, 12:35 pm)mb134 wrote Wasn't the GNE deal a 2 year agreement?

I thought so.  4% or RPI (whichever is greater) from June was my understanding.

(23 May 2024, 12:57 pm)Storx wrote Not too sure now that you said it. Did they ever agree to the second year? I thought the union wanted that bit wiped out.

Edit: just checked looks like they did and it's only a 4% deal which isn't going to be very attractive considering it's 20p below Stagecoach and Arriva and that's before their respective next deals come in.

Well yes, it only went through by a small margin, so nearly half of the workforce weren't happy with the deal.

(23 May 2024, 10:52 am)Lewispark1509 wrote I've noticed this morning that Percy Main had a 'little oopsie' moment and had a number of services running late, and some not running at all.

Whoever is running Percy Main depot (and the drivers) need a strong word but you'd be better off talking to a brick wall. I've listed all the buses this morning that ran late for no apparent reason and have sent them to Nexus. But then again, Nexus is just as bad as Go North East. If not, worse.

18A: Byker [M] - Longbenton
Due out of Byker Metro at 7:20 didn't run until 8:50 throughout.

317: Whitley Bay - Wallsend
6:43 to turn up half an hour late, BEHIND the 7:13 bus, resulted in the returning 7:57 trip from Whitley Bay not run from Whitley Bay to North Shields, with no bus to replace lost sections.

7:43 from Wallsend to WB commenced at North Shields Ferry Landing at 8:31, although due at 8:26. Tracking also shows it being buses first run of the day.

8:19 trip somehow got 30 minutes late and terminated at Percy Main. No bus to replace lost section onwards to Whitley Bay. Returning 9:27 trip to Wallsend was replaced, however, bus commenced at Malvern Road.

354: Newcastle - North Shields
6:29 trip out of Newcastle didn't commence until Silverlink.

I trust that you have reported these to GNE customer services, and that these are real “on the ground observations” rather than things you’ve seen on bustimes.org.

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(23 May 2024, 11:52 am)V514DFT wrote I know the 307 i was waiting for yesterday was 10 minutes late, it was due on Verne Road at 11:36, so i opted for a Taxi (i was in a lousy mood anyway)

307 and 309 seem to be carrying a lot of extra passengers recently due to the large number of journeys on Arriva 306/308 that are cancelled. Extra passengers generally results in late running.
Arriva performance on the coast road isn’t good even when they are running. 

(23 May 2024, 5:51 pm)busmanT wrote I trust that you have reported these to GNE customer services, and that these are real “on the ground observations” rather than things you’ve seen on bustimes.org.

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307 and 309 seem to be carrying a lot of extra passengers recently due to the large number of journeys on Arriva 306/308 that are cancelled. Extra passengers generally results in late running.
Arriva performance on the coast road isn’t good even when they are running. 

Currently roadworks at the Battle Hill Drive / Kings Road Junction which could be having an impact on performance.

Normally unless the Coast Road Retail Park & Tesco are busy or on a matchday, the 307 should be and is normally ok.

It's the 309 which is struggling not only owing to serving High Farm, but congestion issues around the Coast, Hillheads, Foxhunters and Chirton Grange.

Did you check other operators to see how they performed this morning.

Also sorely relying on bus times can be a bad idea as it's not 100 percent reliable.

(23 May 2024, 11:43 pm)Rapidsnap wrote Did you check other operators to see how they performed this morning.

Also sorely relying on bus times can be a bad idea as it's not 100 percent reliable.

It's worth noting that there's been faults with tracking with Ticketer equipment again recently, often resulting in buses which appear to be missing but are actually running.

(23 May 2024, 11:43 pm)Rapidsnap wrote Did you check other operators to see how they performed this morning.

Also sorely relying on bus times can be a bad idea as it's not 100 percent reliable.

What difference does other operators make. Russia could bomb the whole of Ukraine that doesn't make it alright for Israel to bomb the whole of Gaza...

(23 May 2024, 5:51 pm)busmanT wrote I trust that you have reported these to GNE customer services, and that these are real “on the ground observations” rather than things you’ve seen on bustimes.org.

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307 and 309 seem to be carrying a lot of extra passengers recently due to the large number of journeys on Arriva 306/308 that are cancelled. Extra passengers generally results in late running.
Arriva performance on the coast road isn’t good even when they are running. 

In the age of technology, I'm not sure that customers should/need to report late or non-running services to the operator. Maybe I'm expecting too much, but you'd hope they'd have mechanisms internally that reports on this data, and then they use that to improve services going forward?

Obviously most of these issues are down to the Streetlites being horrendous.

The 354 issue highlighted above didn’t operate the full route yesterday as a Streetlite broke down on the 307 it operates before the 354. Another two ended up breaking on the 317, and others on the 1.

Not sure what the issue is with them but they’ve obviously got major issues.

If Arriva are having operational issues on the Coast Road and GNE are having subsequent operational issues.....could NTCA not have interim powers to extend on the existing qualifying agreement to franchise the 306/307/308/309?

(24 May 2024, 10:01 am)L469 YVK wrote If Arriva are having operational issues on the Coast Road and GNE are having subsequent operational issues.....could NTCA not have interim powers to extend on the existing qualifying agreement to franchise the 306/307/308/309?

NTCA no longer exists, but it's not that easy for the North East Combined Authority either.

There's a legal process to go through before any franchising can start, and NECA haven't even issued a notice of intent yet. I don't believe they could contract another operator to run services on the Coast Road, given there's two principle operators already running a frequent service, even if the timetable is a work of fiction. 

I'd hope the Traffic Commissioner is looking at Arriva's issues, but it can't help to prompt them.

There is issues at Cradlewell where the road is down to one lane which also effects performance along with Battlehill Drive and strangely... PASSENGERS boarding at nearly every bus stop! Who would of thought it eh .. buses running late because it picks passengers up

(23 May 2024, 5:51 pm)busmanT wrote I trust that you have reported these to GNE customer services, and that these are real “on the ground observations” rather than things you’ve seen on bustimes.org.

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307 and 309 seem to be carrying a lot of extra passengers recently due to the large number of journeys on Arriva 306/308 that are cancelled. Extra passengers generally results in late running.
Arriva performance on the coast road isn’t good even when they are running. 

Passengers shouldn't have to constantly complain about late running for something to be done about it. Data should be easily accessible to operators given all of the tools available to them, and should be noticing if there are any patterns in late running. 

On my last trip on a Cobalt & Coast the service arrived late into town for no good reason. There was no traffic, the passenger loadings were not huge, but there was a hefty bit of layover before the next trip. It's been said on this forum before that PM drivers enjoy dawdling when they have a significant layover, it speaks volumes that this has not been addressed by the company after all these years. 

On your Arriva performance statement, bus services should not be a race to the bottom, and GNE are hardly a beacon of service punctuality on certain corridors. Those in glass houses should not throw stones.

(24 May 2024, 6:32 am)Jimmi wrote It's worth noting that there's been faults with tracking with Ticketer equipment again recently, often resulting in buses which appear to be missing but are actually running.

I am aware and full accept bus times isn't 100% reliable, but it doesn't fully cancel out the fact sometimes it is reliable, which is why I have contacted the operator to confirm. 99% of the time, both the operator and Nexus have confirmed the tracking was correct (nothing specifically mentioned, I mean in general). I'm mostly referring to BusTimes showing buses being indisputably late and going the wrong way. For example the 18A service the other morning when it didn't operate until 8.50.

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I've also been told by a few Walkergate drivers that GNE are on their last warning with the 317s. By default it will go back to Stagecoach unless another operator puts a bid in for it. GCT aren't allowed to operate it (as in March 2023, GCT put the lowest bid in, but Nexus gave it back to Stagecoach in fears GCT wouldn't run it properly), and Arriva will probably not even want to run it. It would be nice to see smaller yet more reliable operators to run it, like JH for example.

(24 May 2024, 9:46 am)Thomas12 wrote Obviously most of these issues are down to the Streetlites being horrendous.

The 354 issue highlighted above didn’t operate the full route yesterday as a Streetlite broke down on the 307 it operates before the 354. Another two ended up breaking on the 317, and others on the 1.

Not sure what the issue is with them but they’ve obviously got major issues.

There's a reason their nickname is "StreetShite".

(25 May 2024, 12:15 pm)tLewispark1509 wrote I am aware and full accept bus times isn't 100% reliable, but it doesn't fully cancel out the fact sometimes it is reliable, which is why I have contacted the operator to confirm. 99% of the time, both the operator and Nexus have confirmed the tracking was correct (nothing specifically mentioned, I mean in general). I'm mostly referring to BusTimes showing buses being indisputably late and going the wrong way. For example the 18A service the other morning when it didn't operate until 8.50.

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I've also been told by a few Walkergate drivers that GNE are on their last warning with the 317s. By default it will go back to Stagecoach unless another operator puts a bid in for it. GCT aren't allowed to operate it (as in March 2023, GCT put the lowest bid in, but Nexus gave it back to Stagecoach in fears GCT wouldn't run it properly), and Arriva will probably not even want to run it. It would be nice to see smaller yet more reliable operators to run it, like JH for example.

That’s not how contracts work…it wouldn’t just go back to Stagecoach by default, it would be retendered. It’s also a load of rubbish that GCT wouldn’t be allowed to operate the service, especially considering they were awarded the 335/351/359 with the same PVR. 

GNE are hardly going to be on a final warning when they pretty much operate every service (albeit some delayed) and even if so why would a Stagecoach driver know this?

The 18A example was a one off, probably caused by a breakdown. This could happen to any operator in reality.

(25 May 2024, 12:15 pm)Lewispark1509 wrote I am aware and full accept bus times isn't 100% reliable, but it doesn't fully cancel out the fact sometimes it is reliable, which is why I have contacted the operator to confirm. 99% of the time, both the operator and Nexus have confirmed the tracking was correct (nothing specifically mentioned, I mean in general). I'm mostly referring to BusTimes showing buses being indisputably late and going the wrong way. For example the 18A service the other morning when it didn't operate until 8.50.

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I've also been told by a few Walkergate drivers that GNE are on their last warning with the 317s. By default it will go back to Stagecoach unless another operator puts a bid in for it. GCT aren't allowed to operate it (as in March 2023, GCT put the lowest bid in, but Nexus gave it back to Stagecoach in fears GCT wouldn't run it properly), and Arriva will probably not even want to run it. It would be nice to see smaller yet more reliable operators to run it, like JH for example.

There is always our very own lovely Dan a Northstar

Buses running late, or not turning up has been happening for years in fact it would have been happening since the bus was invented and it's not a problem unique to Go North East. Least in the days of modern technology you know if it's going to turn up or not. So no matter how many letters you write to Nexus etc whining that this bus was 1 minute and 25 seconds late, it won't change a damn thing. Anything and everything can make a bus run late whether intentional or not. Just accept the fact it's something you cannot control and move on, trust me from my own experience it's less stressful.